Steering gear



Apr'il 1 1924. 1,488,723

J. T. WELSH STEERING GEAR Filed April 15 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 j' @fw 3 2 vnlm t e 8, m W8. q u 4 s 7 .Tv l e e h S 4 nV nk l muws. Gl wNl Ii .wm ...mA JSd .n

April 1924.

J. T. WELSH STEERING GEAR Aprily 1 1924.

Filed April 16 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 J. T. WELSH April 1 1924;

STEERING GEAR Filed April 16, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l 'knv/SW O @MM m latasd Arf; .1 1.9424.`

forml T waren; .or

- 3 STEERING GEAR.

apncatia inea Alirn is, 19'20. serainasigase. Y ,i i v f Schenectady, in the countyv of Schenectady, 5 StatefofNewYork, have invented certain new andl useful Improvements in'lSteering Gears; 'and Ido hereby declare the following tofbeha full,clear,and exact description ofi the invention, such yas will enable others 10-skilled inthe -art to which it appertains-to make anduse the same.. t

This ,invention relates toy the steering of ships andv more yparticularly lto lal control system in which movement o the pilotyor tri k=-wheel puts -in operation certain` in- A 'termediaryfmachines which ,-in their turn i move the rubber! vesselsgitl is, `of course, necessary that the steering engine-which ultimately'swings the rudder should be under the quick -and accurate controlof the pilon-and it is furthermore highly ydesirable that .the pilot know of the exact position of the' rudder at all times through some-reliable checking or follow-up system. To these ends the system described in detail herein Ahas been devisedalthough Ait is clear that theA invention is fundamentally broaderthan the specific embodiment of it disclosed in this application.

Various control systems have been devised and are in use whereby motion of the trick Wheel operates the steering engine. Control from the Wheel to the steering compartment is transmitted in some instances by means of shafting, and in others by means of wire ropes which operate drums' in the steering compartment. -The use. of `hydraulic telemotors is also old asis well un- J.derstood In every instance it is, of course, necessary that some means be present whereby the steering engine is stopped with the stopping of the trick wheel, allowing, of course, for a compensating lag. This is ordinarily effected 'b 'means of a follow-up device or diterentia through which the engine itself closes its own valve when the control means vhas ceased to operate. In these systems the control mechanism is complex and cumbersome and easily disarranged. Moreover, no satisfactory means have been devised for accurately turning the rudder to an exact, predetermined position, nor has any simple follow-up system been evolved 3 *y WELSH,- a citi-zen ofthe United States,` residing at '.In thesteering of large rudder is in central by means 'of which the pilot apprised 0f the exact position of the rudder at alltimes.

scnnimc'ranr, NEW Yoan; Assioma To mammaire co., INC., LCOBPORATIONQF NEW Yomg,` .f t y. ,f

' It is accordingly an vobject ofthis invention `to devise ainotor'system of steerin .control which shall be electrically operate and in such -a manner that every movement of the trick wheel shall cause instant operation of an electric motor andv consequent 1Inn .mediate opening of the control valve of the steering engme; the 'angle through which the rudder isthereby turned being directly determined by the number` of turns of the trick wheel. f

yA vfurther object of the invention is to" devise, an answer-back or follow-'up system cooperating with the first system an having a dual function, b means of which themovement of the rudf er itself operates, first, to stop the steerin engine ywhen the predetermined position as been reached, and, secondto move va, tell-tale pointer in the pilot .houseindicating the exact position of the rudder. y

A further object of the invention is to provide the system with electrically operated safety devices which V'prevent the contro valve of the steering engine from being opened too far vand the rudder from going hardover in either direction; and an auxiliary checking system indicating when the osition. l Other objects will Iie apparent from th detailed description of the system and its o eration which` follows.

Although the system operates as a unit, in a manner to be described later, it may yet be considered as consisting of two major parts. The first of these embraces the means which operate to move the rudder, andthe second those means which operate to stop it. The first comprises as its main elements a trick -wheel or other controllin device, a master controller located in the w eelhouse, a remote control relay, a master steering motor and a steering engine operated by the motor. `The second part comprises as its main elements a transmitter mechanism- A"auxiliary elements such as a limit switch i connected to the control valve of the steering post to keep the rudder from going hardover in either direction, and a lamp in the master controller which lights when the rud-l der iS in central or midship position. There are also two pointers in the master controller, one operated by the trick wheel, and the other a tell-tale pointer operated by means of the follow-up mechanism.

In order that the specific embodiment of the invention may be more cleariy understood reference is had to the accompanying drawings; in which i F ig. 1 is a vertical section through the master controller; i

Fig. 2is a plan view of the master controller showing the main indicator and the tell-tale pointer;

Fig. 3 is a horizontalsection on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 showing the train of gears whereby the movable brush and tell-tale pointer are operated; v i

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4-4 OYF ig. 1 showing the electromotive device which is .synchronized with the transmitter;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the water tight casing which contains the transmitter, the rudder limit switches and the contacts actuated by the rudder for lighting the lamp in the master controller. This mechanism is shown in its relation to the rudder post; y FFig. 6 is a section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 7 is a vertical section through the limit switch used to limit the movement of the motor;

F ig. 8 is a transverse section taken on line 8 8 of F ig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of the differential or follow-up mechanism used in opening and closing the steam valve of the steering engine; and Y Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view ofthe wiring employed.

The following is a detailed description of that part of the system which operates primarily to move the rudder: Attention is first called to Figs. 1 and 2. The master .Y

controller is mounted in a polished brass bowl 1 supported by a pedestal 2. A steering wheel, or trick wheel 3 is mounted in this bowl. Although a wheel has been illustrated as the primary controlling device, it is, of course, obvious that other equivalent means, such as levers, Vcould be employed. As practically no work is done by the pilot in moving the controlling device, the great leverage of the old-fashioned steering wheel 1s unnecessary. A friction brake comprising a threaded split sleeve 4, and a correspond` ingly threaded nut 5 is provided to regulate ing.

the pressure upon the shaft 6 of the trick wheel, thereby regulating the freedom with which this wheel may be turned. The inner end of the shaft 6 is threaded as at 7 and enclosed within a housing 8. A sliding threaded nut 9 is mounted upon the threadedportion of shaft 6, and is moved longitudinally thereof along trackways 10. This nut contacts at either end of' the housing with fixed blocks 11, and thus limits the rotation of trick wheel 8 in either direction. The trick wheel, through pinions 12 and 13, worm let and worm wheel 15, turns the contact disc 16 which is journaled on shaft 17,`

which is itself journalcd in sleeve 28. This Contact disc is provided with a peripheral contact ring 18 having two halves which are insulated from each other by insulating or neutral spots 19. Fixed to this contact disc is a pointer 21 which moves over an arcuate scale 22, and indicates the degree through which the pilot wishes to turn the rudder. Pointer and scale are visible to the pilot through glass 2O and the pointer may be painted with radium paint for night steer- Mounted within the polished brass bowl the disc 16, are two fixed brushes 23 and 23, shown in Fig. 2 as being spaced apart about 120",v and diagrammatically in Fig. 10 about 180. Fixed to the upper end of shaft 17 is a fan-shaped contact segment 25 which as it moves, constantly contacts with a fixed brush 26. Depending from this fan-shaped contact segment 25 and fixed medially thereof is a movable brush 27 which contacts with the periphery of disc 16 and may be oscillated relative thereto in a manner and for a purpose to be described later.

Leads from the fixed brushes 23 and 23', and from movable brush 27 through contact segment 25 and brush 26, pass to remote control relays 66 and 67 which are mounted in cabinet 68 in the steering engine room and control the operation of compound wound motor 71 which operates the steam control valve of the steering engine. Power is supplied to the entiresystem either through line 72 or auxiliary source 73 such as a battery controlledl by an automatic throwover switch 74 of anyapproved type. As shown in Fig. 10, clockwise movement of contact disc 16 completes a circuit through brushes 23 and 27 and relay .66, thus energizing this relay and closing a circuit through the primary source of powerl and the motor. Counterclockwise movement of disc 16 completes a circuit through brushes 23 and 27 and relay 67. Operation of this relay completes a circuit through the primary sonrce of power and the motor, but in such a manner (as will be obvious from an inspection of Fig. 10) that current fiows in a direction the reverse of that resulting V nalmovemeiit of rod 75 (see l`ig.`9) through appropriatemechanism, not shown; the-direction of movement of thisl rod being, of

- course, dependent ,upon the direction of rotation of the motor Connected` to rod 75 is a cross-arm 76 swivelled at 77 ,to the steam control slide valve 78 of the steering engine. Pivoted topthevotherend of arm 76 is a rod 80 which is longitudinally moved by the steering engine. Rotation of the motor causes rod 7.5 to move, let us say, in the direction indicatedby the arrow in Fig.,9, and consequently causes cross-arm 76 to take ilpproximately the position indicated by lower dotted line showing, thus opening the steam control valve of the steering engine. A As soon, however, as this valve is open and the engine begins to operate,

and returns cross-arin 7 6 to the position shown in upper` dotted line showing, thus rautomatically closing the valve, stopping the engine and consequently stopping the movement of the rudder; the latter being directly controlled by the steering engine in any approved manner. There is, of course, a momentary lag at this point. The 4motor operates a few seconds before the rudder moves, but this is compensated by the fact that the rudder continues to move'a few of a spring. By

seconds after the motor stops.

The description thus far has had to do with those parts of the system which operate to move the rudder. But as soon as this movement begins the follow-up mechanism immediately operates to stop it, and does so at the proper oint. The following is a description of t is second part of the system:

In Figs. 5 and 6 is shown a watertight casing 41 which'contains transmitter 43 and its operating mechanism. This mechanism is-operated by movement of the rudder post 48 through appropriate chain gearing 51.l

J1wosprocket chains are employed, the ac-y tive run of each being held taut by means no slack to be taken up and no lost motion when the direction of movement of the rudthrough der is changed. Rotation of shaft 52 meshing gears 53 and 54 causes rotation of shaft 55 on which are positioned brushes 56 of transmitterv 43. This shaft 55 is geared up so that a; relatively slight movement of rudder post 48 will cause shaft 55 and brushes 56 to times. Current is su plied to brushes 56 through brushes 57, wiich in turn are connected with contacts 58, which receive current from the primary source of power. The transmitter A3 is synchronized with an electromotive device 36 which is located in rod 80 is moved in the opposite direction as indicated, l

this arrangement there is be rotated several` the master controller and` dperates a telltale pointer 24 yand movable brush 27. Th/e/ current ypassingthrough brushes 56 of the transmitter is led through the various segments thereof and contacts to thecorresponding field magnets ofr- .the electromol- "tivedevice 36 in a manner clearlyrshown in a positioncorresgonding to that of the rud- I der, and this, through a chain of gears, to

be described later, is transmitted to the telltale pointer 24 in a manner easily under# stood. i Y A Attention is again called to Figs. 1. and

r2. Mounted inf/the upper part of 'pedestal'l 2 is an electromotive device 36 operated 1n synchronisin with transmitter 43, as described above. Armature 35 of this device is fixed upon a vertically rotatable' shaft 34, land at the upper end of this shaft is fixed a pinion 33 meshing with gear 32 (see Fig. 3)'. Integral with .gear 32 and coaxial therewith is a pinion 31, meshing with segmental gear 29 which is mounted on the lower end of'shaft 17. At the upper end of this shaft 17, and diametrically opposed to contact segment 25, is fixed tell-tale pointer 24 which moves over scale 22 and opposite to pointer21. 'Rotation of the transmitter causes synchronous rotation of the varmature 35 and shaft 34 determined in the first instance by the direction of movement of the rudder post. This rotation of shaft 34, through the chain of gears above described causes a swinging of contact segment 25 and tell-tale pointer 24. The contact segment carries movable brush 27 to neutral spot 19, which breaks the circuit through the then energized relay and consequently stops the motor. At the same time the tell-tale pointer indicates the exact position of the rudder which should coincide with that indicated by pointer 21. If

of device 36 in a direction the steam controlvalve in the steering en'-l ine is o en far enough to carry the movable brus by the insulated space in the ring before it is closed, the other relay operates to reverse the steering engine and .brings it back' to the position corresponding to the position of the trick wheel. The over-runnin of the rudder is guarded against in the design of the length of the insulated space in the contact/ring. A handle 40 is secured sirable. The first of these is used in connection with the control valve of the steering engine (see Figs.4 7, 8, and 9). In order to prevent the motor from voperating this valve past the follow-up osition, the limit switch '79 is provided. lhis limitswitch comprises a rod 81 which extends from slide valve 78 and into the housing 82. An insulated cylinder -83 is fitted `over the eX- tremity of rod 81, anda band of conducting material 84 surrounds this insulating cylinder at its midle. This 'end of rod 81 slides in a hearing of-insulating material 85 having two arcuate conducting members 86 situated in the upper portion thereof, as clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 8. 1f the valve is moved too far in either direction the current which flows through members 86 and 84, and which is the primary current operating the motor 71, is interrupted. Thereupon the motor stopsA and the steering engine returns the valve to a point where the conducting` elements of l`:the limit switch again contact, and operation of the motorl is resumed.

Limit switches are also providedfor preventing the rudder from going hardover in either direction. (See Figs. and 6). Rotation of shaft 52 through meshing gears 61 and 62 causes limited rotation or oscillation of shaft 63. The vtrain of gears through which shaft 63 is actuated is so designed that this shaft oscillates through a slightly greater angle than the rudder post. Vhen the rudder is approaching thehardover positions, arm 64 assumes the positions indicated in dotted lines on Fig. 6, and bears against yielding contact members 65 of limit switches 42, thus interrupting the circuit to the motor and stopping the steering engine.

Means have also been devised for checking the tell-tale pointer and the follow-up mechanism. This means comprises an electric lamp 37 mounted in the base of the master controller which lights when the rudder is in central or midship position, and is made visible to the pilot through suitable openings. This lamp is lighted as follows, attention being called again to. Fig. 5: Two rotary` contact breakers 44 and 46, each comprising two concentric discs and 45, and 47 and 47 respectively, are fixed, the lirst uponthe shaft 63, and the second on shaft 55. These contact breakers are arranged in series, andl through them, when in operative position, flows the current which lights lamp 37. Connecting and conducting segments are placed in discs 45, 45 and 47. 47 in such Amaner that when the rudder is in its central position theseysegments contact with their respective brushes, current flows, and the lamp. is lighted. A Very slight movement of the rudder post, however, results ina sudden turning of shaft ers in the master controller are in line.

breakers aures a very quick break in the lamp circuit and permits the light to shine only when the rudder is exactly in midship position.

The above described arrangement of contact' Lamp 37 is mounted upon a switchboard i 38 in the base of the master controller. Upon this board are also mounted a doublethrow switch (not shown) which disconnects the master controller and connects in a secondary controller on the bridge, and a.

switch 30 t(see Fig. l0) which controls the common lead of the follow-up circuit. Also in the lamp circuit is a switch 87 for disconnecting the lamp 37.

The operation of the system may be brief ly reviewed as follows The Lpilot turns the trick wheel until pointer 21 indicates the degree through which he desires to turn the rudder. Contact disc 16 is thus rotated through a small arc and al circuit established through one of the fixed brushes, one ofthe halves of the contact ring, the movable brush and one of the relays 66 or 67. This movement is, of course, relative and the brushes might move about a fixed contact disc. A relay isthus energized and the motor 71 caused to rotate in the appropriate direction. Rotation of the motor opens the steam control valve of the steering engine which in turn swings the rudder. If the motor operates the control valve of the steering engine past the followup position, the limit switch 79 opens the connnon control circuit and stops the motor, but as soon as the steering engine starts to close the control valve, t-he circuit is again completed. As soon as the motor opens the valve, the engine itself, through rod 80, tends to close it. As long, however, as the motor is running. the engine cannot overcome its lead and the valve remains open. The swinging motion of the rudder operates transmitter 43, which in turn causes synchronous rotation of electromotive device 36, and this in turn causes the movable brush 27 to swing until it contacts with the insulated or neutral spot 19, and carries with it tell-tale pointer 24. Vhen this neutral position is reached the current through the relay is interrupted, the relay ceases to operate, and the motor stops. 'The moment the motor stops, the steering engine, through rod 80 automatically begins to close the steam control valve and the rudder stops. The system is now in equilibrium and both point- Claims: 1. In a system of steering control, the

combination of a rudder, a master controller for controlling the parts of the `system which o crate to move the rudder, and means for c ecking the system, including indicating means associated with the master controller and operated by` an electric circuit; two contact makers arranged in series in the circuit, both being operated in accordance with the movement of the rudder, theoperation of one being substantially'quicker than that of the other; the relation of the foregoing parts being such that when the rudder is in central or 'midship position, current flows in the circuitand causes said indicating means to o rate, said checking means bein inoperatlve when the rudder is in any ot er pobrushes contacting ring, a movable sition.

2. In a system of th'e type described, a controller comprising a single lit ring, the halves of which are s e ratepby sections of insulating materia two stationary one with each half of the rush normally contacting with one of the insulating sections, means for moving the ring and brushes relative to each other to cause the movable brush to make contact with one of the halves of the ring whereby an electric current may be established through that half, means for supplying electric current to said movable brush, means for returning said brush to its normal position, a pointer carried by said ring, and a .tell tale pointer associated with said movable contact to indicate at all times the position of the rudder of the system.

3. In a system of the type described, a motor, a steering en 'ne, means operated by the motor vto opent e control valve of the engine, means actuated by said valve forstopping the motor when said valve has been opened to a redetermined position and means actuate b said engine tending gradually to close sai valve, said valve actuated means being adapted to Alstart said motor again after said valve has been dis laced by said engine from the predetermine position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOHN T. WELSH. 

